ReMix: New Super Mario Bros. 'Plumber's Bane: I. Don't Look Back!'
- Game: New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, 2006, NDS)
- ReMixer(s): Random Hero
- Composer(s): Asuka Ohta, Hajime Wakai
- Song(s): 'Castle BGM', 'Fortress BGM', 'Sub Castle BGM', 'Tower BGM', 'World 8 Map'
- Posted: 2009-07-17, evaluated by djpretzel
Random Hero, aka Ryan Roberts, had a single mix posted in 2006, 2007, and 2008, and now he knocks out 2009 with an orchestral NSMB mix that actually draws from multiple Mario games:
- 0:27-0:33 - Super Mario World - Castle Theme
- 0:40-1:40 - New Super Mario Bros. - Fortress Theme
- 1:14-1:24 - Super Mario Bros. 3 - Fortress Theme
- 1:43-2:33 - Super Mario Bros. 3 - Dark Land Theme (World 8)
- 2:39-5:30 - New Super Mario Bros. - Castle Theme
... as broken down by Ryan himself. He writes:
"This song was started in order to test the Organ samples that came with EWQL Colossus, mainly the church organ. It was only meant to be a bit of fun, but it kept evolving into something bigger and better then any old scrap song I have done. The song started out as a remix of the 2 fortress themes from New Super Mario Bros. but soon grew to include bits from many other Mario games.
Part way through this remix, someone suggested I try to remix the Final Bowser Battle music from New SMB. So part way through one remix, I started another. But I soon came up with a way to join both songs together. When completed, the song, which I call “Plumber’s Bane”, reached 10 minutes and 33 seconds. But in order to submit the song, it was re-split into its original 2 parts.
”Don’t Look Back!” is the first part that song and is submitted here. It focuses on Mario’s fight to reach Bowser and of course, save the Princess."
It's a Mario mega-opus, and while the second part should show up here as well in due time, there's more than enough Mario jam-packed into this first bit to keep you satisfied. There's a LOT of timpani in this mix, too, so your needs are covered there as well. Things intro with sinister timpani rolls and subtle string swells, but eventually the afforementioned organ becomes dominant. I have Colossus, and I have to say I really didn't remember the organ being this huge; I think a good part of it is that Ryan's put it to excellent use in a fitting context. This arrangement feels... large. Not in terms of tons of reverb being applied, or tons of instruments being employed, or having bombastic climaxes, but simply by virtue of the organ having such piercing, soaring presence; it's very dramatic. Not much else to say, really; a very powerful arrangement that I'm glad RH was able & willing to break into halves and submit here. Like Tarantino's work with Kill Bill Vols. I & II, it doesn't feel truncated or incomplete, so I think he's done a great job of splitting things up. Excellent.
The first half of the mix, while not the superior half, couldn't have been done any better in my opinion. It's like a gothic retrospective of past castle themes, but in no way a traditional medly. We get portions of familiarity shrouded in dissonance and organ hits. Quite an admirable decision and one I appreciate a lot. It makes the thrust into the 'New' Mario territory make a lot of sense and by that stage, the listener knows exactly what the mix is about, and hopefully what to expect from future installments.
This shows all the signs of a very promising series of mixes in the vein of the Cantata for Dancing movements. Let's hope it can live up to the potential suggested in this one. No pressure, or anything...
- Marmiduke on November 21, 2009
- Random Hero on November 17, 2009
I gotta say, the only part of this song I didn't like was the very first organ hit. For some reason, that first hit is really piercing, and not in the good way. But after that one initial organ hit, every other use of it is excellent, sinister, and awesome.
I'm not going to mince words. I love this piece. Dark, brooding, amazing use of source tune, and masterful use of timpanis to back the organ and other instruments. It's purely evil sounding, and when you get to the Castle theme from NSMB, it just all comes together in a positively sinister package. Very cool. A must-listen, and a must-download. Bowser would be proud.
- Triad Orion on August 11, 2009
Not to sound cliche but good job :))
- Mtlbro on August 10, 2009
Nice work.
- Martin Penwald on August 4, 2009
When things get going, it's even more awesome. The transition writing was excellent, and the underlying rhythmic pulse was very well done.
Double thumbs up, this track is huge.
- OA on July 29, 2009
Anyway, great mix! I'll be looking forward to part 2!
- jintoreedwine on July 20, 2009
- LightSamus on July 20, 2009
My only complaint is that at 3:50 or so, I was expecting it to get really crazy with a Castlevania-style harpsichord, and was disappointed that it did not. But who cares? This is the kind of thing I keep coming back to OCR hoping to find :)
- Nobbynob Littlun on July 20, 2009
I don't know if anyone noticed, but the intro to this song is paying tribute to David Arnold's Independence Day soundtrack; A movie I have seen dozens of times and still love. Actually, I had never seen the movie in theater thou, that is, until last night!!! :) They actually showed it last night and I HAD to go see it!! If u haven't seen it, U SUCK! hahaha JK.
Now:
Plumber's Bane Part 2:
Well, I think this part has been put on hold. I did submit it, but there was an issue with the ending. I meant to fix it but never did. SO it will be submitted again soon!
- Random Hero on July 18, 2009
To start, let me just say that this has got to be one of the best OC remixes I've heard in quite a while. It's really quite epic, and I can't wait for the second part!
This is going to sound strange, but I don't think that watching this marvelous "piece" being performed by a live orchestra/choir would do it justice. Not that it wouldn't sound superb--it's just that this particular mix seems to demand, with divine authority, something much more. For example, I would love to see a trailer of a next-gen Luigi's Mansion sequel synchronized to to it. That would probably knock me out cold. ^_^
All in all, grandiose. Very grandiose, indeed. Bravo, Mr. Random Hero! *much applause*
- The Music Guy on July 18, 2009
Songs don't normally hit me like this. There are a few OC ReMixes that do, though. This one I must say has hit me the hardest in terms of vivid imagery that came along with the song.
That's why I am proposing the following:
I think that the song should play throughout a flash animation (not some crappy amateur animation either) of Mario progressing through a series of dark, gritty areas, finally arriving at the last castle and its conquer. I am not a flash animator, but I am a damn good visualizer, so I can provide a detailed storyboard for the entire track for anyone who is interested in animating it.
No words, no SFX, but an animation that is perfectly choreographed with the beats and tunes of the song.
You guys might remember the I, Mario thing we had a while back on this board. I think this would be a great tribute to it, even though it only got so far. I even have a fanfiction I am writing that is a spinoff of the "I, Mario" idea of a gritty, real-world take on the Mario universe. This idea really intrigues me.
To Random Hero: Let me know if you're interested in allowing this or even if you're willing to help out with this proposal. Anyone else; I'd love to make this a reality, with Random Hero's blessing of course, so let me know if any of you are interested.
- KP9000 on July 18, 2009
- ChaosPlayer on July 18, 2009
I think this (both parts together) is one of the best orchestral mixes on the site by far. The transitions between themes are very well-done, and the timpani just rocks.
- Antipode on July 17, 2009
I would have liked to hear the synth elements that you briefly introduced towards the beginning of the song employed more, but I could see how that might clash with the overall style you're going for. When you did use them, it sounded pretty neat though!
Great job, though. Part 2 needs to get up on the front page ASAP!
- Emunator on July 17, 2009
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